GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING THE

FINAL YEAR PROJECT PROPOSAL

(STF3013)

prepared by

The Special Committee on Improvement of Guidelines on

Writing Proposal/Report for STF3013 and STF3015

Faculty of Resource Science and Technology

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
March 2014

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INTRODUCTION

The Final Year Project 1 (STF 3013) constitutes the proposal and preliminary (progress) components
of the full Final Year Project undertaken by final year students during the first semester of their final
year. The proposal document describes the proposed intention and justification of the project and
generally includes the problem statement, objectives, literature background, proposed methodologies
and a timeline needed to finish the project.

CONTENT OF THE PROPOSAL

The research proposal should contain the following items:

1. Title and Front Cover

2. Table of Content
3. List of Tables
4. List of Figures
5. List of Abbreviations
6. Summary
7. Introduction
8. Literature Review
9. Materials and Methods
10. Expected Outcomes
11. Work Schedule
12. References

All sections and their sub-sections (hence, the headings and sub-headings) should be listed
appropriately with their associated page numbers. Roman numerical (i, ii, and iii) is to be used for
page numbers starting from Title and Front Cover, Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures,
List of Abbreviations and Summary. Arabic numerical (1, 2, and 3) is for subsequent pages,
beginning from the Introduction, until the end. Please refer to Appendix A for format of the Title
and Front Cover and Appendix B for the Table of Content.

Details of each sections and their allocated evaluation marks (in percentage) are as follows:

Summary (10%)
The Summary section should provide a brief outline of the proposed intention for the study and
should contain the problem statement, main aim, general methodology in performing the research,
expected outcomes and key implications. This section should not exceed 250 words, and do not
require any sub-sectioning. The whole Summary should encompass of only one (1) paragraph.

Introduction (20%)
The main items that should be included in this section are the research background, problem
statement and the proposed objectives. The research background should be relevant and focused on
the problem statement. Whenever and wherever information is taken or adapted from literature, the
source must be cited. In-text citation should be based on an appropriate and standard referencing
system (refer to the Literature Review section, 2nd paragraph). The proposed objectives must be
specific and seek to address the research questions. The Introduction should not exceed two (2)
pages, without any sub-section.

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Literature Review (30%)
This section should be devoted to reviewing literatures related to the study, and it should be relevant
and specific to the proposed study. Students should use this section to strengthen the background of
their study so that readers will have adequate knowledge to properly understand the research
proposal. This can include a review on the taxonomy, methodology, current state of the knowledge,
and gaps in the knowledge. The Literature Review should have proper sub-sections, each with sub-
headings, related to the project. Only figures/diagrams, tables or charts (if any) that are directly
relevant to the main body of text should be included in this section. Extra figures/diagrams, tables, or
charts should be incorporated in the Appendices.

In writing this section, students are advised to include the latest literature relevant to their studies.
Except for direct quotations, all statements (or arguments) taken from literature must be paraphrased;
and quotations and statements taken/adapted from literature must have proper citation of the source.
In referring to sources of literature, in-text citations should be included in the main body of text
whenever necessary. In-text citation should follow the Harvard Referencing system only, that is, last
name followed by year. Refer to the example below:

A research proposal should represent a research document that explains the intention and
rationale of the proposed study (Smith, 1970). According to Jefferson and Wayne (1979), for
most types of research study, it is sufficient to have only one research question for each research
proposal. However, studies have shown that the complexity of most disciplines today may
warrant the need for more that one research question in a single study (Simms et al., 1982).

Citation of any publication with three or more authors should use the surname of only the first
author, followed by et al., and the year of publication.

Materials and Methods (20%)

This section should provide a comprehensive description of the materials and methodologies
proposed for the study. It should be written using present and future tenses, although still in passive
voice style. If the method proposed follows a standard or established protocol (procedures), the name
of the method and the source (inventor) should be included. For example:

The simultaneous and quantitative analysis of endogenous expression will be carried out using
the SAGE assay (Kinzler and Vogelstein, 1990). Subsequently, comparative profiles will be
analyzed using the MATCTM Software (Version 1.0.2, Techsource, USA) which is based on the
Spearman-Longines Matrix Algorithm (Spearman et al., 1989). Additionally, the Q-Test (Lang,
1995) will be performed for statistical validation of the differential profile among samples.

Sub-sections can be used to demarcate different parts of the methodology, for example, Field
Method, Laboratory Work, and Statistical Analysis.

Expected Outcomes (5%)

This section describes the suspected (hypothetical) knowledge contribution of the intended study. It
should not be confused with the typical results of established protocols/methodology. For example,
students should not state that the use of mist nets will allow them to catch birds and bats, or that
electrophoretic separation of DNA fragments will be achieved using the Agarose Gel Electrophoresis
system, or that the HPLC assay of chemical extracts will allow them to identify the nature of the
compounds therein – and claim these statements as expected outcomes of the study. Expected
outcomes must be scientific conjectures based on logical and systematic inferences from established

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facts. In addition, they must be coherent to the research question and hypothesis of the proposed
study.

Work Schedule (5%)

The work schedule illustrates the proposed timeline of work associated with the proposed study, and
should be in the form of a Gantt chart. Although proposed action plans may change according to
progress of study, a logical timeline of work should be outlined. The process of literature search
cannot be included as part of the action plan, and should not be in the Gantt chart. Refer to
Appendix C for a typical example of a work schedule.

References (10%)
All references cited in the text should be listed here, and similarly, all authors named in this section
must be cited in the thesis. Statements or methods by previous researchers whose authenticity have
been acknowledged must laso be cited. Generally, each reference should contain the following items:

1. Author’s name
2. The publication year of the article
3. Title of the article
4. Name of the journal
5. Volume and page

Examples of listing references based on Harvard Referencing system are shown below:

Jia, B. H.; Li, J. F. and Gu, M. (2007). Two-photon Polymerization for Three-Dimensional Photonic
Devices in Polymers and Nanocomposites. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 60 (7), 484-495.

Bergeron, B. (2002). Bioinformatics computing. New Jersey, USA: Pearson Education Inc. and
Prentice Hall.

Ipor, I. B.; Tawan, C. S.; Ismail, J. and Bojo, O. (1998). Floristic Compositions and Structures of
Forest at Bario Highlands, Sarawak. In G. Ismail, & L. Din (Eds.), A Scientific Journey
Through Borneo: Bario, the Kelabit Highland of Sarawak. (pp. 113-132). Kuching, Malaysia:
Pelanduk Publication.

Nyanti, L.; Ismail, N. and Lo, M. L. K. F. (2005). Fish, Crustacean and Cephalopod Fauna and Their
Fisheries of the Paloh Mangrove, Rajang Estuary, Sarawak. In A. A. Tuen & I. Das (Eds.),
Wallace in Sarawak – 150 years later. Proceedings of an International Conference on
Biogeography and Biodiversity, July 13-15, (pp. 162-177). Kota Samarahan, Malaysia:
Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

Bryant, P. (1999). Biodiversity and conservation. Retrieved October 4, 1999, from

http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/Titlpage.html

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2007). Laws and regulations. Retrieved July 24, 2007, from
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/lawregs.html

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Every student should refer to their supervisor for a specific style/format that is required in their
particular field/department (or is preferred by the supervisor). There is no limit on the number of
references used, but web-based (internet/online) information sources should not exceed 5% of
total references used. If internet information is used, it must be from valid sources (e.g. government
agencies, and accredited academic and research institutions). Reference from internet sources must
include the retrieval date and URL address and a hardcopy of the first page to the webpage should be
attached as appendix. Online articles from refereed journals (usually also available in printed
version) is considered as valid literature/report source and should be listed according to normal
journal paper format.

Published reports from previous Final Year Projects can be considered, as published reports and can
be cited and listed as book reference. This also applies to reports from approved Masters and
Doctoral theses. However, information from documents, data or reports that cannot be assessed by
the public is considered as unpublished data and should be cited as personal communication (pers
comm.) or as unpublished data.

PLAGIARISM
Based on the UNIMAS Academic Regulation for Undergraduate Studies (Item 11.1), plagiarism is
defined as any effort/work (including course assignment and final year project proposal/report) that
directly reproduces the published work of others without adequate acknowledgement to the original
author(s). It also includes direct adaptation or copying of sentences or paragraphs, from any
reference without citing the source. Plagiarism is an act of academic dishonesty and perpetrators can
be subjected to disciplinary action (Item 11.1, UNIMAS Academic Regulation - Undergraduate
Studies).

FORMAT OF THE FINAL YEAR PROJECT PROPOSAL

1. Language: The proposal should be written in English.

2. Margin (A4 size paper: 80 gram) for all pages:

 top, bottom, and right margins should be 25 mm wide
 left margin should be 30 mm wide

3. Line spacing should be double (except for Title and Summary pages). This applies also to
footnotes, lengthy quotations, appendices, and headings and sub-headings. However, legends and
captions for Tables and Figures, and list of references should be single spacing.

4. The font type and size for the main body of text should be Times New Roman, size 12. Headings
and sub-headings should be highlighted in bold. Headings should also be in Title format (with
lower case for conjunctions). Students are advised not to use the chapter system, but should
adhere to the section and sub-section system.

5. Tables and Figures are only allowed if they support and aid readers in the understanding of the
proposal. They should not contain detailed data or extensive amount of raw data, because such
table and figures should be included as Appendices. All tables and figures provided should be
referred to in the main body of text of the relevant sections (or sub-sections). Captions for all
tables should be written at the top o the table, while for figures the captions should be written at

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 the bottom of the figure. The caption should be brief but sufficiently informative to reflect the
content. The font type and size for legends and captions of tables and figures should be Times
New Roman, size 10 at single spacing. If the tables and figures are taken or adapted from other
works, the appropriate sources should be cited.

6. All text should be in full alignment (justified alignment).

7. Each proposal document should be between 10-12 pages (excluding the Appendices). Page
numbers should be printed 25 mm from the bottom edge and placed in the centre.

8. Hardcopies of the proposal should be printed using laser printer.

SUBMISSION AND EVALUATION OF THE FINAL YEAR PROJECT PROPOSAL

The research proposal should be typed using MS word format. At least two (2) hard copies of the
draft proposal should be submitted to the Programme Coordinator for the purpose of evaluation. The
draft proposal for each student will be evaluated by the Supervisor and at least one Examiner (other
than the supervisor or co-supervisor). This should be carried out before the oral presentation of the
proposal.

The corrected and final version of the proposal (in stapler-bound form) should be submitted one (1)
week after the oral presentation. One (1) hard copy of this proposal should be distributed to each of
the following person:

1. Programme Coordinator
2. Supervisor, and
3. Co-supervisor (if any).

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Appendix A: Example of the Title and Front Cover

Title of Final Year Project Proposal

(Times New Roman, Bold 12, Centre, Title Format - with lower case for conjunctions)

Student’s Name
(Times New Roman, Bold 12, Centre)

A project proposal submitted in partial fulfilment of the

Final Year Project 1 (STF 3012) course
(Times New Roman, Normal 12, Centre)

Supervisor: Name of supervisor

(Times New Roman, Bold 12, Centre)

Name of Programme
(Times New Roman, Normal 9, Centre)

Faculty of Resource Science and Technology

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Date (dd/mm/yy)
(Times New Roman, Normal 9, Centre)

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Appendix B: Example of the Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Title & Front Cover i

Table of Contents ii

List of Tables iii

List of Figure iv

List of Abbreviations v

Summary 1

Introduction 2

Literature Review 4
Heading 1 4
Sub-heading 1 4
Sub-heading 2 6
Heading 2 8
Sub-heading 1 8
Sub-heading 2 11
Heading 3 13
Sub-heading 1 13
Sub-heading 2 16

Materials and Method 18

Heading 1 18
Sub-heading 1 18
Heading 2 21
Sub-heading 1 23
Sub-heading 2 25
Heading 3 27
Sub-heading 1 27
Sub-heading 2 28
Sub-heading 3 29

Expected Outcomes 30

Work Schedule 31

References 32

Appendices 38

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Appendix C: Example of a Gantt chart on work schedule

Project Activities 2014 2015

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Data collection

Proposal writing and

presentation
Benchwork and
sample processing
Progress report

Data analysis

Data validation:
Statistical analysis
Report writing and
presentation

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